There is an enormous variety of cancers which are described in detail in the medical literature. Examples include cancers of the lung, colon, liver, kidneys, bladder, ovaries, prostate, breast, head and neck, brain, blood and intestine. The incidence of cancer continues to climb as the general population ages, as new cancers develop, and as susceptible populations (e.g., people infected with AIDS or excessively exposed to sunlight) grow. To that end, there is a need in the art for additional molecular targets for effective anti-cancer therapies.
Despite availability of a variety of anti-cancer and chemotherapeutic agents, many of these therapies have drawbacks. Stockdale, Medicine, vol. 3, Rubenstein and Federman, eds., ch. 12, sect. 10, 1998. For example, many chemotherapeutic agents are toxic, and chemotherapy causes significant, and often acute dangerous side effects including severe nausea, bone marrow depression, and immunosuppression. In fact, even with administration of combinations of chemotherapeutic agents, many tumor cells are resistant or develop resistance to such chemotherapeutic agents. Further, it is well recognized that specific polymorphic crystalline forms of therapeutic agents, including anti-cancer agents are effective while other forms of the same compound may have reduced or little-to-no activity. Thus, identification of polymorphic forms offers improved activity of anti-cancer and chemotherapeutic agents.
The available options for the treatment of cancer are limited. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a class of critical transmembrane proteins with known involvement in the regulation of the innate immune system. TLRs are also implicated in the onset and progression of many cancers. TLRs modulate specific signaling molecules, including NFκB, and represent a potential target for anti-cancer agents in the treatment of cancer. A tremendous demand therefore exists for new methods and compositions that can be used to treat patients with cancer. Described herein are solutions to these and other problems in the art.